Various work vehicles have boom systems for extending the reach of the work vehicle. In the agricultural industry, for example, self-propelled sprayers may have long, folding booms that extend from lateral sides of the vehicle perpendicular to the direction of travel of the machine. In the case of agricultural sprayers, the booms support fluid lines and spray nozzles for delivering a spray solution or other material to the sides of the vehicle low to the ground and at a wide swath of the field being treated.
Conventional booms for agricultural sprayers may use long lengths of heavy gauge steel members to span long distances of field (e.g., 100 feet or more). A truss-work arrangement may be employed to support the bending loads on the long members of the boom. The heavy boom members, along with the heavy fluid and fluid distribution pipes and the associated truss arrangement, may take considerable time to fold and unfold. The weight also causes ground compaction or may deform the crops.